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Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions.
This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization.
Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

All of Alberta's 15 caribou herds are threatened by
industrial incursion into the old-growth forest they
require to survive, but the Little Smoky herd in the
northwest corner of the province may be the worst
off. The herd is down to its last 100 animals and
scientists say about 95 per cent of its range is
heavily disturbed by energy and forestry
development, putting the animals in imminent
danger of dying out.

Provincial and federal environmental policy
emphasize conservation and rehabilitation
of caribou habitat. Federal documents say
caribou need to be able to use at least 65
per cent of their range.

But Alberta Energy has continued to sell off
energy leases in the remaining 5 per cent
of the Little Smoky range. That area remains
relatively pristine and is heavily used by the herd.

Tar Sands devlopment creates a moonscape

Between 2009 and 2010, the government leased
out about 84 per cent of two townships in the
heart of the undisturbed area and sales continue.
Another 9,000 hectares of land are expected to be
leased out by the end of April.

"That just adds more disturbance and makes their
survival prospects unlikely," Carolyn Campbell,
the association's conservation specialist, said Wednesday.

"It seems a no-brainer with the Alberta caribou
policy and the federal recovery strategy that we
need to stop new surface disturbance. These new
leases just compound the existing problems and the
existing failure of managing habitat so that herd
has a chance."

"Approving the lease does not guarantee that one
can develop it. They need to go through a process
and meet all the tests."

Land is put up for oil and gas lease in Alberta through
requests from industry. Those requests are reviewed
by both the province's energy and environment
departments.

"There's a lot of co-operation with [Environment] on
the front end and the back end," Mr. Deising said.
"That's why you will see conditions put on leases."

large clearcuts in interior forests enable deer and
wolves to usurp Caribou habitat

The Environment Ministry does have the power to deny
surface access and has done so in the past.

Others in the Energy Department have also pointed
out that the area for lease in the coming months is
a tiny fraction of the Little Smoky herd's total range.

They have said, however, that energy companies in
caribou habitat operate under guidelines designed to
minimize impact. They have also pointed out that the
area for lease in the coming months is a tiny fraction
of the Little Smoky herd's total range.

Ms. Campbell responds that the impact of any road,
cutline or well site extends far beyond its boundaries.
Research suggests that caribou avoid being within
500 metres of any disturbed area, meaning even a
narrow road cuts a one-kilometre swath through the bush.

Although the Little Smoky caribou have remained
stable for the past six years, that's largely because
of an extensive program of killing wolves that prey
on them.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource
Development officials have acknowledged that
predator management is not a permanent solution.
Caribou specialists within that department have
acknowledged that without improvements to
habitat, the Little Smoky herd is unlikely to survive.

Two Massachusetts Eastern Coyotes at their den site

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Aldo Leopold--3 quotes from his SAN COUNTY ALMANAC

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Aldo Leopold

''To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."

Wildlife Rendezvous

Like so many conscientious hunters and anglers come to realize, good habitat with our full suite of predators and prey make for healthy and productive living............Teddy Roosevelt depicted at a "WILDLIFE RENDEZVOUS"

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Blog Disclaimer

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of my various thoughts and opinions, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Rick Meril and WWW.COYOTES-WOLVES-COUGARS.COM make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.